Donington Park "will stage the British MotoGP for the first time in six years when the race returns in 2015," according to the BBC. The Leicestershire track "will hold it for one year before it moves to
the yet-to-be-built Circuit of Wales." Bosses at Silverstone, which has hosted the event for the last five years, "had hoped to
retain it for another year." Circuit of Wales consultant Chris Herring said, "In
Donington Park, we have a venue that shares our vision for growing
MotoGP in the U.K." But Silverstone Managing Dir Richard Phillips "is
unhappy with the decision to hand the race to Donington Park after
failing to agree terms on a deal for 2015." Phillips said, "We have invested heavily in the circuit
and facilities here at Silverstone, specifically to host MotoGP, and
have developed the British Grand Prix into a highly successful event" (BBC, 9/2). The LOUGHBOROUGH ECHO's Pete Warrington wrote Donington Park racing circuit Managing Dir Christopher Tate said that "he was delighted." Tate: "In the past three weeks, our team here has worked tirelessly to bring
together the commercial arrangements for MotoGP 2015 in a way which
supports our continued growth, while also providing the new U.K. rights
holders with a successful event" (LOUGHBOROUGH ECHO, 9/3).

The "greatest emotional trigger at any
auto-racing event is the noise," according to Joshua Robinson of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. To some, "the sound is repellent." To "others it is like an
opera." But "what if there is no sound at all?" Welcome to the "quiet world of Formula E." It has the "look of Formula One," the schedule of a "billionaire jet-setter (Malaysia to Miami to Monte Carlo), and all the noise of a blender from Sears." Former F1 driver Karun Chandhok, who will race for the Mahindra Racing Formula E team, said, "That's a little bit eerie to start with." On a recent Formula E test day, the pit lane "had to be equipped
with a piercing siren to let mechanics know cars were coming." Though the
cars can reach speeds of up to 140 miles an hour, "what little noise
they make sounds somewhere between a kitchen appliance and a sci-fi
movie special effect." Whatever it is, "it doesn't scream like any race
car you've ever heard." And it is "definitely not loud." Virgin Racing driver Jaime Alguersuari said, "The sound is futuristic, which you don't expect. It's very light and
high. At a certain speed, you hear just
the wind." Early on, Formula E considered "adding artificial noise to the engines to
create a roar where there was only a whir." The prospect of a speaker
"belting out vroom-vroom sounds, however, rankled the purists more than
no noise at all." Virgin Racing Chief Technical Officer Sylvain Filippi said of noise generators, "I was always massively against it. Anything artificial you add weight and it makes no difference." F1 traditionally has been "treated by road car manufacturers as a
high-speed, high-performance R&D department." The FIA hopes Formula E
can "do the same for electric cars." For now, every team is "running the same engine to keep expenses low and
simplify logistics in the first season." Starting in '15, each team will
be allowed to replace parts and make "wholesale changes." The drivers have "only had five days" of track testing, "as they teach
themselves how to extract maximum performance from their cars." Andretti driver Franck Montagny said, "I'm not fully ready. I was
thinking that at the end of the year, I will still be learning" (WSJ, 9/2).

Officials in Germany said that the Euro 2020 semifinals and final are "set to be played at Wembley as part of a wide-ranging deal" between the English and German FAs, according to the London GUARDIAN. Euro 2020 is being staged in 13 different countries to "mark the 60th anniversary of the tournament, with only Wembley and Munich’s Allianz Arena putting in bids to host the final three games" ahead of the vote on Sept. 19. The deal, reported in the German media, would "entail Germany dropping their bid to stage the three 2020 matches in return for England backing Germany's campaign" to host the Euro 2024 tournament. Germany would "also support England's effort to host the tournament" in '28 (GUARDIAN, 9/3). In London, Oliver Kay wrote the FA "is confident" it will win the vote to host the finals and semi-finals. But the FA and UEFA say "there will be no deals of the type that the DFB implies." However, based on the FA's relationships with DFB and UEFA, and private conversations with Euro 2020 leave the organization "convinced that the Munich bid will be dropped just before the vote" (LONDON TIMES, 9/4.)

This year's Race of Champions "will take place on the Carribean island of Barbados." The event, which last took place in '12, "is scheduled for Dec. 13-14." The Bushy Park Racing Circuit "will host the race" (SID, 9/2). ... Indian Super League side Atletico de Kolkata will take on Mumbai City FC in the opening game of
the ISL's first season at the "historic Salt Lake
Stadium, Kolkata" on Oct. 12. All games will be played at 7pm, including the semifinals and finals (INDIAN TELEVISION, 9/3). ... The "Flat turf course at Newcastle received a stay of execution when the
British Horseracing Authority refused to grant an exemption to its rules"
which would allow Arena Racing Company to run floodlit winter
fixtures at the track. The end of Flat racing on turf at the track "may
not be postponed indefinitely, however," as ARC responded to the news by
describing it as an "unwelcome delay" and restating its determination "to ensure Newcastle's all-weather track will host fixtures as part of
the 2016 fixture list" (London GUARDIAN, 9/2). ... CTS Eventim said that it has been appointed the ticketing provider for the Rio 2016 Olympics. CTS announced that a total of 9 million tickets are expected to be issued (REUTERS, 9/2).